In just two years, the world’s largest full-service restaurant group has recycled more than 7.3 million pounds of fry oil, the chain announced earlier this month.

The $8 billion a year Orlando, FL-based business with more than 1,900 locations includes some of the nation’s top restaurant chains such as Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille.

According to TriplePundit.com, Darden Restaurants recycled 100 percent of its oil use in 2011—turning the oil into biodiesel fuel, animal foods, even soap.

Recycling and reducing food waste are becoming important considerations for the food industry. TriplePundit reports that on average, Americans throw out more than 4.4 pounds of trash every day, “The Environmental Protection Agency figures that more than half of our national waste – and that’s 136 million tons – ends up in our nation’s landfills. And it ranges from newspapers and food waste to electronics and all of the other things we dispose of every day.”

TriplePundit reports that even the nation’s largest chain, Wal-Mart, has stepped up the game when it comes to making recycling and sustainable decisions, “in 2011, Walmart diverted more than 268,000 gallons of yellow grease from rotisserie chicken and, of that total, more than 100,000 gallons were recycled into biodiesel fuel.”

It wasn’t that long ago that recycling, let alone recycling food waste, was a foreign issue for most Americans. But, according to TriplePundit, “As the public continues to become increasingly aware of our major waste issues, locally and globally, many companies are stepping up their waste-reduction efforts. As a result, they are helping our planet and winning approvals from consumers, customers and their employees.”

Ambling through a local nursery or home improvement center in search of basic garden staples, you might assume that in order to foot the bill, selling precious bodily fluids or becoming a medical guinea pig is a necessity. Chin up, green thumb wannabe! You can obtain a lush, veggie-riffic payload (without suffering the slings and arrows of invasive needles, probes and questionable pharmaceuticals) by imaginatively repurposing countless items that are already in your home. These tips are so eco-juicy that you’ll be reaping the good green (and antioxidant-rich) benefits for countless growing seasons to come!

Ambling through a local nursery or home improvement center in search of basic garden staples, you might assume that in order to foot the bill, selling precious bodily fluids or becoming a medical guinea pig is a necessity. Chin up, green thumb wannabe! You can obtain a lush, veggie-riffic payload (without suffering the slings and arrows of invasive needles, probes and questionable pharmaceuticals) by imaginatively repurposing countless items that are already in your home. These tips are so eco-juicy that you’ll be reaping the good green (and antioxidant-rich) benefits for countless growing seasons to come!

BIODEGRADABLE SEED POTS

Sure, everyone and their uncle knows that recycled cardboard toilet paper cores, newspapers, egg cartons, eggshells and even hollowed out fruit and veggie skins can nurture seedlings successfully, but did you know that the paper sleeves insulating fancy frappucinos can also serve the same purpose?

MINI GREENHOUSE

Coaxing seedlings to emerge victorious can be as simple as creating a humid environment by covering each pot with a recycled plastic bag or creating sturdy, weather-resistant domes (also known as garden cloches) using recycled plastic juice containers.

PLANT STAKES

Tears and holes in your pantyhose are bound to happen, but that doesn’t mean that your hosiery has met its final curtain call. Anytime you need to support climbing or fruit-laden plants (cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, etc.), stake them with strips of old panty hose without harming delicate stems – and yes, hole-ridden socks will also do in a pinch. Melon lovers, take note: In order to avoid insect infestation and/or ground rot, tuck newly formed fruit into one leg of your holey nylons before tying the whole ‘package’ to a strong stake. As the melon grows, the panty hose will expand accordingly while offering firm support.

GARDEN EDGING

While trimming the perimeter of your veggies and flowers isn’t exactly a necessity, it sure is fun when you use empty glass beer, wine, soda bottles or wooden log slices – and it can also be ever-so-stylish if you leap into vintage dishware, expertly woven tree branch or seashell terrain.

FREEBIE FERTILIZER

Acid-loving plants will go gaga for recycled tea bags and coffee grounds, botanicals that thrive in the presence of calcium-rich, alkaline conditions will benefit from recycled eggshells, and don’t forget to bury potassium-rich banana peels around the roots of rose bushes.

HANGING PLANTER

PLANT PEDESTAL

Have ever-changing outdoor temperatures done a number on your terracotta pots? The most obvious recycling solution is to break pots into shards for better drainage, but you’ll get more mileage by inverting worn-out or cracked vessels as botanical stands for indoor or container gardens.

NO-SWEAT HEIRLOOM PROPAGATION

Farmer’s markethounds may occasionally encounter positively scrumptious veggies that they’ve never seen or heard of before. Keep the edible glory alive – at least in the case of visibly seeded or rooted varieties – by plunking carefully excised sections directly in the ground.

HUMANE PEST DETERRENT

Recycled coffee grounds are filled with garden-boosting goodness – nitrogen loving hydrangeas turn a particularly pleasing shade of blue in the presence of spent java – but they also offer the extra added bonus of being naturally offensive to common veggie thieving critters, so lay it on thick. You can also scare pesky tomato-pecking birds away by hanging naturally reflective recycled compact discs around the perimeter of your garden.

SOIL SCOOP

Containers that are filled with typical household products such as laundry detergent and bleach can be transformed into handy DIY scoops just by wielding a pair of scissors.